HDT Segment Moves to Standard Repair Procedures

April 18 , 2017—For the past 18 months, PPG Commercial Group has worked with I-CAR to develop heavy-duty truck (HDT) repair procedures. John Spoto, heavy-duty commercial fleet manager at 3M, and Fred Honore, Gerber Collision & Glass commercial, RV and heavy-duty fleet manager, who are both a part of this initiative, believe that the industry may see these by the end of the year, if not earlier.

Spoto and Honore spoke with FenderBender about the process, which started with a 20 Group in which PPG was involved. The group was concerned by the fact that as of right now, there are no repair procedures available for the heavy-duty truck segment of the industry.

“These vehicles can be 80,000 lbs,” Honore said. “It’s really important that we establish repair standards and supporting training, not only for the overall safety of everyone on the road but for the advancement of our industry.”

I-CAR was made aware of this initiative and began working with the group to put together a set of standards and training. The group has just completed putting together repair procedures for HDT shops and has sent them to I-CAR to review and see what can be applied to this segment of the collision industry.

For example, Honore said that I-CAR already has a repair procedure in place for aluminum welding that can be applied to HDT shops. Spoto added that for many procedures, like riveting, there’s no difference between a vehicle and a HDT. Establishing these repair procedures doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch.

Spoto and Honore said that it’s been a really focused effort by all members involved and that it will have a huge impact on the industry.

“Think about it,” Honore said. “We deal with school buses. Those buses are taking our kids and grandkids to and from school. The fact that we don’t have repair procedures for these types of vehicles just doesn’t make sense.”

"John and Ryan have led this team toward industry changes that will make a significant impact on how these HDTs are repaired and make these repairs, standardized, consistent, and safe for us all," Honore said.